The Opening Play

"Dude, back off. You're gonna get ultied by Garen." Julian heatedly called out over Skype.

"Alright." Obediently, Shawn listened as he swiftly clicked with his mouse and moved away from the enemy. Not long after, Shawn moved his champion and decided to go in to fight, "Let's go in. Go, go, go!"

A heated battle ensued and eventually they had won the last team fight and it allowed them to win the game. A month had passed and during both of their free times, Julian and Shawn would be grinding out on League of Legends. The relationship between the two boys had gotten very much better in that time frame and overall, Shawn could be seen to be more cheerful around Julian. In school, if they ever had class together or even during their meal and break times, the boys would be busy discussing a new strategy they had created or envisioned in their head.

It was blissful times for the both of them, but Shawn also had other things on his plate that he needed to get over and done with. The past two weeks, Shawn had been going for rehearsals every day. It was draining on all fronts and by the time he gets home, the boy would only be able to play one or two games before he nods off. The male lead of the play, Struggles had many lines and so, Shawn had to remain vigilant at all points when it came to memorising his parts. At no point would he want to forget the lines in the middle of a scene. That would truly be catastrophic on all fronts.

Tomorrow, was the opening play and it would start at 7.30pm. Surprisingly enough, Shawn had managed to keep this secret from his parents the whole time. He did not want to show this side of him to his parents. Maybe it was because that he was afraid of what his parents would think of him or that he was embarrassed about the fact that he was performing on stage, but Shawn never revealed anything to them.

"Alright, I want everyone to have a good night's rest tonight. Everyone has worked hard for this play over the past two months and I just want to say, good job everyone. I am very proud of all of you." Mr Bialik ended the rehearsal early today. Other than the full run-through tomorrow before the play, there wasn't much else that they could do now.

This was the earliest they had been released in the past two weeks. Shawn and Emilie left the auditorium with light spirits. For the both of them, they were honestly glad that the play was soon to be over. Having to stay back in school to rehearse every night was extremely draining even for the drama-crazed girl. Since it was the beginning of March, the weather was still chilly. With Shawn's convincing, Emilie compromised with a warm cup of fishcakes and soup.

Both of them ate food that warmed up their body as they walked together to the main road. Things like these have become a normal occurrence for Shawn and Emilie. Although they never really talked during school hours, the pair had eventually formed a close connection with each other.

"Hey Shawn." Emilie spoke first.

"Mhm."

"Would you miss these days when the play is finally over?"

"Would I miss it?"

"Yeah." Emilie kept it short. She wasn't being her usual cheerful self.

Shawn could tell that the girl was being serious about asking this question. Indeed, over the past two months since the audition, Shawn had been through a lot and experienced many news things in that time. He had also grown closer with others, especially Emilie, who was technically the perpetrator behind him doing the play. Now that she was asking this, Shawn could see that she was worried whether she had done the right thing in forcing him into doing the play with her.

Knowing that there was a right answer to this question, Shawn confidently replied to his bus mate, "Yeah, I'll miss these days."

Emilie heard the answer clearly and just chose to smile silently to herself. Indeed, that was the answer she was hoping to hear from Shawn. The cold wintry breeze would soon turn into spring and that would soon entail a new adventure for the both of them. Whether or not they would stay close or drift apart, that was a story for another day.

When Shawn got home, the teenager had his dinner and showered before playing a game or two of League of Legends. The clock struck 10pm and Shawn decided to go to bed early. Not wanting to disappoint others or his own hard work, Shawn slept early. Before his brain shut off, he was continuously reviewing the lines in the play and envisioning the scenes that he was going to be in. The next day came and the boy left the house with a calm mind. His parents said the usual words of goodbye. His bus mate, Emilie was on the same bus as him. His form class was as noisy as usual. Everything felt surreal and familiar.

In the afternoon, Shawn and Emilie got to leave class for the day as they had the final run-through of the play. Changing into his costume, Shawn had his semi-long hair gelled up and his face had some make-up on. After finishing up with last rehearsal, the male lead was finally in the zone and ready for his first official performance in front of an audience.

"Lights, cameras, action!" Mr Bialik said the school's Drama team's slogan, signalling the beginning of the school play, Struggles.